autopolymerisation

• autopolymerization (US)

From auto- +‎ polymerisation.

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˌɔː.təʊˌpɒl.ɪ.mə.raɪˈzeɪ.ʃən/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˌɔ.toʊˌpɑl.ɪ.mɚ.aɪˈzeɪ.ʃən/

autopolymerisation (countable and uncountable, plural autopolymerisations)

1. (chemistry) A chemical reaction in which a monomer undergoes polymerisation spontaneously, often due to environmental factors such as heat, light, or inherent instability.
   • 1908, Frank Wigglesworth Clarke, The Data of Geochemistry (United States Geological Survey: Series E, Chemistry and Physics, 54; Bulletin No. 330), U.S. Government Printing Office, page 634:

     The fats remain, to be altered by heat and pressured into hydrocarbons, whose boiling points lie below 300°; and these later undergo a partial autopolymerization into denser forms.

   • 1926, Schachno Peisach Schotz, Synthetic Rubber, New York: Van Nostrand Company, page 86:

     The products of autopolymerisation may be present.

   • 2020 April 23, Rena L. J. Cruz, Maureen T. Ross, Sean K. Powell, Maria A. Woodruf, “The Chemistry of Imitating Life”, in Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, volume 8, number 147, page 106:

     Autopolymerisation or self-curing relies on the incorporation of chemical agents, as activators, to initiate polymerization.

2. (dentistry) The process by which an autopolymer hardens.